French Court Rejects 75% Tax Rate

By

David Pearson

Dec. 29, 2012 12:22 p.m. ET

PARIS—France's top constitutional authority on Saturday threw out a government plan to impose a top income-tax rate of 75% on high-wealth individuals as part of next year's austerity budget aimed at reining in bloated budget deficits.

The "exceptional solidarity contribution" for the next two years contained in the 2013 budget was a keynote promise by Socialist President François Hollande in his election campaign earlier this year to increase the tax bite on wealthy people. It came in for fierce criticism from...